Week 1 is finally upon us, and with that comes the resurrection of professional football for the 2026 season. This year the Cowboys don’t have to wait long to renew one of their oldest rivalries.
Dallas opens the 2026 season Sunday night against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, and while plenty about this matchup will look familiar, the team the Cowboys face isn’t quite the same one that went 4-13 a year ago.
The Giants spent the offseason remaking their coaching staff and loading up on young
talent. Now they get to see whether all that change can translate into wins. So, before the Cowboys and Giants kick off Sunday night, here’s a quick look at what has been happening in New York.
The Giants added plenty of new faces
The Giants overhauled their coaching staff. John Harbaugh takes over the team, giving the franchise a former Super Bowl winner with a large reputation in the NFL. Harbaugh’s teams are physical, and they will run the football. His presence is the big headline change in New York for the 2026 season.
New York was also busy in free agency, bringing in several players with ties to Harbaugh’s former team in Baltimore while also addressing some obvious roster weaknesses. Among the notable additions were linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, cornerback Greg Newsome II, defensive tackle DJ Reader, tight end Isaiah Likely, fullback Patrick Ricard and punter Jordan Stout. The Giants also added receiver Darnell Mooney and safety Jevon Holland to finish a furious free agency period for the G-men.
Then came the draft. The Giants had two picks in the top 10 and used them on Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese at No. 5 and Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa at No. 10. They added Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood in the second round and Notre Dame receiver Malachi Fields in the third, rounding out what could be a nice mix of young and veteran talent on the roster.
Reese could stand out as one of the best players out of the 2026 draft. At Ohio State, he totaled 69 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in 2025. Harbaugh has said the plan is to move Reese around, allowing him to line up inside, attack gaps and rush off the edge alongside Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux, making them, on paper, one of the most athletic defensive lines in the NFL.
This is Jaxson Dart’s team
The Giants also enter 2026 with a second-year quarterback taking over the offense. Jaxson Dart is the starter, with veteran Jameis Winston serving as his backup. Dart’s development is arguably the biggest variable in determining how much better New York can be this season, but with the reins firmly in his grasp this year and a full offseason program behind him, the next step could be a big one for the second-year pro.
Last year Dart threw for 2,272 yards on 216 completions (63%) with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. Dart also showed he was a capable, dangerous scrambler. Adding 86 carries for 487 yards and nine touchdowns, and with all the offensive additions and the return of Cam Skattebo, Dart will have plenty of help around him in 2026.
Despite injury recovery, Malik Nabers should still be an offensive centerpiece
If there is one Giants offensive player Cowboys fans don’t need an introduction to, it’s Malik Nabers. After torching Dallas last year in week two for 167 yards on nine catches and two touchdowns, Nabers is looking to continue his dominance against his divisional foes. However, the second-year receiver is returning from the ACL injury that ended his 2025 season, and his availability and effectiveness will be one of the biggest storylines Sunday night. New York released longtime receiver Darius Slayton just days before the season, leaving a receiver group built around Nabers, Mooney, Beckham and rookie Malachi Fields.
That makes Nabers even more important. The Giants also have some interesting options in the backfield. As mentioned earlier, Cam Skattebo is back from his scary ankle/leg injury that derailed his rookie season, while Najee Harris, Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Devin Singletary give New York plenty of options depending on the situation in the run game.
The defense could be the biggest problem
The Giants’ defense was a major weakness last season, particularly against the run, coughing up 145.3 rushing yards a game, good for 31st in the NFL, but there is considerably more talent on that side of the ball now.
Burns and Thibodeaux are veterans, while Abdul Carter enters his second season and Reese gives New York another versatile weapon. Edmunds adds experience inside, while the secondary received a significant facelift with the additions of Newsome and Holland.
And there is an interesting Cowboys connection here. Chauncey Golston, who spent the first five seasons of his career in Dallas, is now with the Giants and is listed as a starting defensive end on New York’s Week 1 depth chart.
The Giants are also expecting a bounce-back from cornerback Deonte Banks, who has won a starting spot opposite Greg Newsome heading into Week 1. This isn’t the same defense Dallas saw last year. Like the Cowboys unit that struggled last year, this defense should and could improve a lot.
So, how did the Giants look in the preseason?
Pretty good. New York went 2-1, losing its preseason opener to Minnesota 13-10 before bouncing back with a 26-3 win over Miami and a 23-6 victory over the Jets. The finale against the Jets was particularly clean. The Giants held New York scoreless after its opening drive, while rookie kicker Dominic Zvada made three field goals, including a 53-yarder. Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Xavier Gipson also scored touchdowns.
Of course, preseason results don’t tell us much about what a team will actually be in September. But for a first-year coaching staff, going 2-1 while establishing the physical identity Harbaugh has talked about is at least a decent starting point.
The Cowboys have plenty of history on their side, however
Dallas has dominated this rivalry historically, holding a 78-48-2 regular-season record against New York and winning 16 of the last 18 meetings. The Cowboys are also 11-1 against the Giants when the two teams have met in Week 1. Even if the most recent meeting didn’t go Dallas’ way, the Giants are facing some daunting and one-sided historical numbers against Big D.
While this is still the Giants, it isn’t exactly the same Giants the Cowboys have beaten up on over the last decade. New coach. New defensive pieces. A different offensive philosophy. A second-year quarterback. And a roster that looks considerably more like the kind of team Harbaugh wants to build. For the Cowboys, Week 1 is the first chance to find out whether all of that change actually made New York better.
And that’s really the question entering Sunday night: How much of the new Giants will show up when the games finally count? Will it be enough to beat history?
